Man 'threw body in Thames'

A Heathrow airport executive was strangled by her husband on the eve of Valentine's Day, the Old Bailey heard today.

Zaheer Ahmed stuffed his wife Adeeba's body into a suitcase and threw it into the Thames, expecting the tide to sweep her away, the jury was told.

But the suitcase was discovered near Barnes railway bridge three days later.

Forensic scientists found fibres on the outside of the luggage which matched carpet and bedding at Ahmed's home in Langley, Berkshire, the court heard.

Ahmed, 28, insisted he had given his wife a lift into Hounslow on Valentine's Day so she could have her hair done and shop before they went out for a romantic meal together.

But none of the town's 31 hairdressers and beauticians had any record of an appointment for Adeeba - who had had her hair done two days earlier. There was also no record of his car entering Hounslow town centre on CCTV film that day.

Jonathan Laidlaw, prosecuting, told the jury that there had been "strains and pressures" in the marriage between customer services manager Ahmed and his 27-year-old wife, who was a customer relations executive with American Airlines.

Although they had married for love, his family thought she was not good enough for him because her parents had been divorced.

The court was told that Ahmed had reported his wife missing at Slough police station on 14 February last year.

"It being Valentine's Day he said he had planned to take her out that night for a meal," said Mr Laidlaw. But despite the frantic efforts of her family there was no sign of her.

"Then a member of the public found a suitcase on the shore of the river Thames just east of Barnes railway bridge, and inside was Adeeba's body.

"She had been strangled to death and then her body was forced into the suitcase and dumped into the river. No doubt the murderer had hoped the river would sweep the suitcase away and the crime would never have been discovered."

Ahmed was arrested two days later, but still claimed to have last seen his wife in Hounslow.

"But his very forceful denials are entirely undermined by a powerful body of circumstantial evidence which points unequivocally to him and nobody else having killed his wife," said Mr Laidlaw.

"It seems to suggest she had been killed during the previous night. When the police searched their home in Langley four Valentine cards were found. Two bought by Ahmed for his wife had been written and sealed and were unopened, and two cards bought by her for him had not even been written.

"If she was still alive on Valentine's Day afternoon, why had she not written them and given them to him?"

Neighbours had heard a loud argument the previous evening.

Adeeba had apparently struck out at Ahmed as he attacked her, because he had a scratch across his nose and she had traces of his DNA under her fingernails, the jury was told.